tare (Romanian)

Where does "tare" come from?

The Romanian adjective 'tare', meaning 'hard', 'tough', or 'strong', is inherited from the Latin accusative form 'tālem'[1]. This Latin word originates from the Proto-Italic '*tālis', which itself derives from a Proto-Indo-European demonstrative stem combined with a root meaning 'to grow'[2]. Over time, the Latin sense of 'distinguished' or 'so great' shifted in earlier Romanian to mean 'strong', eventually developing into the more literal meanings of 'hard' or 'tough'[1].

Open questions

• The derivation of Proto-Italic '*tālis' from a Proto-Indo-European demonstrative stem and the root for growing is uncertain. [2]

Full etymology tree

• tare (Romanian), 'hard, tough, solid'
  • inherited talem (Latin), 'accusative masculine/feminine singular of tālis'
    • inherited talis (Latin), 'such'
      • inherited *tālis (Proto-Italic)
        • derived *só (Proto-Indo-European), 'this'
        • derived *h₂el- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to grow, nourish'

Ancestors

• talem (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• întări (Romanian)

Sources

1. tare (Romanian) - Wiktionary
2. talis (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris